Why a little fancy olive oil might help your blood vessels
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) Improves Vascular Endothelial Function and Hemodynamic Parameters in Patients with Hyperlipidemia: A Post Hoc Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Scientists gave people with high cholesterol two kinds of olive oil for a month. One kind had more natural plant chemicals (polyphenols) and they used less of it. The other had fewer chemicals and they used more. The small amount of the high-chemical oil worked better to help blood vessels relax and work better.
Surprising Findings
High-phenolic EVOO at a lower dose (8g/day) outperformed low-phenolic EVOO at a higher dose (20g/day) despite equal total polyphenol intake.
Common sense says if you eat the same amount of good stuff, it shouldn’t matter how concentrated it is — but here, concentration and the polyphenol-to-lipid ratio mattered more than total intake.
Practical Takeaways
Choose high-phenolic EVOO and use just 1–2 teaspoons daily — drizzle on salads, veggies, or even toast.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Scientists gave people with high cholesterol two kinds of olive oil for a month. One kind had more natural plant chemicals (polyphenols) and they used less of it. The other had fewer chemicals and they used more. The small amount of the high-chemical oil worked better to help blood vessels relax and work better.
Surprising Findings
High-phenolic EVOO at a lower dose (8g/day) outperformed low-phenolic EVOO at a higher dose (20g/day) despite equal total polyphenol intake.
Common sense says if you eat the same amount of good stuff, it shouldn’t matter how concentrated it is — but here, concentration and the polyphenol-to-lipid ratio mattered more than total intake.
Practical Takeaways
Choose high-phenolic EVOO and use just 1–2 teaspoons daily — drizzle on salads, veggies, or even toast.
Publication
Journal
Nutrients
Year
2025
Authors
C. Kourek, E. Makaris, V. Benetou, P. Magiatis, V. Zouganeli, S. Dimopoulos, Georgios Georgiopoulos, A. Briasoulis, Ioannis Paraskevaidis, E. Melliou, P. Orfanos
Related Content
Claims (6)
Drinking or cooking with extra virgin olive oil may help your blood vessels work better, lower body-wide inflammation, and make your body respond better to insulin—kind of like a healthy oil that keeps your insides running smoothly.
Eating extra virgin olive oil may help people with high cholesterol get better blood flow in their tiny blood vessels, helping their tissues use oxygen more efficiently—likely because it boosts a helpful molecule called nitric oxide and reduces harmful body stress.
Eating extra virgin olive oil every day for a month can help your tiny blood vessels work better, especially if you have high cholesterol—your blood flows more easily and your body uses oxygen more efficiently.
When people with high cholesterol eat a smaller amount of olive oil that’s richer in natural plant compounds, their blood pressure drops more and their blood vessels work better than when they eat a larger amount of oil with fewer plant compounds—even if the total amount of plant compounds is the same.
If you have high cholesterol and drink a little extra virgin olive oil every day for a month, your resting heart rate might drop a bit and your lower blood pressure number might go down a little too — which is good for your heart.